Nigeria’s state-owned Bank of Industry, which provides funding for companies in the West African nation, plans to sell its first debt as it seeks to support diversification of the economy from oil and boost employment.

The debt “will most likely be issued next year as local bonds to enable us to boost lending and profitability,” Chief Executive Officer Rasheed Olaoluwa said in a May 16 interview in Lagos, Nigeria’s commercial capital. The lender will appoint an adviser to guide on the size and issuance program, he said.

Economic growth in Africa’s biggest crude producer fell on an annual basis in the first quarter to 4 percent, compared with 5.9 percent a quarter earlier as the oil industry, the nation’s major revenue earner, contracted amid a slump in prices, the statistics agency said May 14. Unemployment rose to 25 percent last year from 24.7 percent in 2013.

Nigerian President-Elect Muhammadu Buhari, who unseated Goodluck Jonathan in a March 28-29 presidential election, promised in his campaign to diversify the economy and create at least one million jobs a year by providing loans to new small businesses. Buhari is due to be sworn in on May 29.

The Lagos-based Bank of Industry has subscribed to Fitch Ratings Inc. for a rating next month that will enable investors to assess its performance and to take informed decisions on the bond, Olaoluwa said. The bank intends to increase its loans this year, over the 127 billion naira ($642 million) disbursed in 2014, he said, without giving targets.

The yield on the nation’s debt due March 2024 rose 20 basis points to 13.46 percent on May 15, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.